Junior baseball player Jonas Fester likes it hot. After all, he just spent his spring break in Arizona, where he claims the temperature was 95 degrees every day.
"It was nice and warm," Fester said. "Pretty good weather for playing baseball."
If the team managed to win eight out of ten games in what was only a "pretty good" 95 degrees, then just imagine what the Blue Jays will do when it heats up in Baltimore.
"We've got our hopes up pretty high," Fester said.
Fester's passion for the game sparked when he was a young child in his humid hometown of Dallas, Tex.
"It was my first sport to play, and the only sport I ever tried," he said.
His love for the game continued through high school, where he was named league MVP and made the all-state team. And when it came to looking at schools for college, only one stood out both academically and athletically in a unique way.
"I couldn't really pass up an education like Hopkins," Fester said. "And the baseball program is one of the best in the country. It was a perfect match."
Even though the baseball season is just getting started, Fester has already heated up the scoreboard with six doubles and eleven RBI. Defensively, he's just as hot. Rumor has it that head coach Bob Babb sees Fester as one of the best defensive shortstops he's ever coached. And he's been coaching for 28 years.
Fester has been on fire since he started playing for the Blue Jays. Even as a freshman, he started in 11 games and hit a towering homerun. Last year, he was named First Team All-Centennial Conference selection and stole 36 bases, tying the Hopkins' single-season mark.
For Fester though, tying isn't enough. From his smoking performance in Arizona, it's obvious that he's got an agenda for the season.
"This year is one of the toughest schedules we've ever gotten," Fester said.
During their trip to Arizona, the team lost junior third baseman Todd Emr to an arm injury.
"Most weekends come out with a few injuries," Fester said. "But it was worth it."
Even Fester suffered a small injury after he fouled a ball off of his left ankle.
"It kind of looks like gangrene or something," Fester said. "But I'll be okay."
Along with the physical challenge of the game, Fester says there are definitely mental ups and downs.
"It comes with the territory."
He says he stays cool by drinking lots of water and trying to stay focused on the field.
Only water and focus? With such an impressive record, most would expect Fester's fire to have more fuel behind it.
"I don't really believe in superstitions," Fester said. "They can't guide you. You have to guide yourself."
For Fester, the game of baseball requires only hard work and commitment. He doesn't even drink Gatorade or chew gum.
Not only has Fester tackled the high temperatures of Arizona, but he's noticed the unusually warm Baltimore temperatures as well. The weather, however, doesn't phase Fester.
"I'm pretty good under pressure," Fester said. "If you need someone to make a play, I'm usually there to do it."
This consistency helps him to hold his title as team's leadoff hitter and, according to him, somewhat of a captain of the infield. And if the shortstop position isn't challenging enough, he said he could just as easily wear the pitcher's glove.
"[Sometimes] I get really frustrated watching our pitchers sometimes while I'm standing there thinking, `it can't be that hard'."
It's clear that Fester doesn't fear the pitcher's mound at all.
"From a pitcher's perspective, he'll make you throw strikes," sophomore right-handed pitcher Harrison Taylor said. "But when you throw strikes, he's probably going to hit them."
Fester's fiery offense is nothing he was unaware of, though. When asked to choose whether he was better at bat or on the field, he couldn't really decide.
"I guess I'm more of a threat offensively," Fester said. "But I'm pretty good at both."
Last year, Fester was the Centennial Conference leader in stolen bases and runs scored, and it doesn't look like he'll drop those titles anytime soon.
"Some of the hardest hit balls I've ever seen have come off Jonas' bat," sophomore first baseman Ryan Biner said.
Watch the forecast this weekend as the Blue Jays warm up for games against York and Rutgers at home. And while you're expecting the warm weather to hit, you might also expect a few strokes of heat from Fester.
